|
Note: This treasure hunt can easily be adapted for Valentine's
Day, Easter, or a birthday party. Also try our
scavenger hunt game for additional ideas.
Keep
your kids guessing and moving all summer long with a Treasure
Hunt, a trail of clues spread out over the summer weeks leading
your children on hunts for prizes and goodies week after week.
It requires a little creativity and planning on a parent’s part,
but is guaranteed to offer weeks of summer fun and lifelong
memories.
Start by deciding on the duration of the treasure hunt. A day, a
week, or several weeks? To make the most out of the hunt, try
and spread it out over several weeks during the summer. A
general rule should be the older the children the longer the
duration, so make their treasure hunt span several weeks giving
them three or four challenging clues each week. For preschoolers
through maybe first graders keep the treasure hunt shorter
anywhere between several clues on one day to maybe five to ten
clues spread over two weeks.
Determine the places to leave the clues. Pick places they are
familiar with like a friend’s home, a nearby playground, the
swing set or sandbox in your backyard. Remember, the older the
kids the greater the difficulty and number of clues. If they
aren’t old enough to go searching for their clues alone, then
put on your walking shoes or hop on a bike and go with them.
Your kids stay safe and you get some exercise too. Some good
hiding places might be, under a door mat, buried in the sand
box, under a bush, or taped to a basketball hoop. Also, think
about timing clues with other visits. For example, if you go to
the park every Friday, plan for them to find a clue when you are
there. Go to Grandma’s every Sunday? Plan for them to hunt and
find a clue while visiting.
Next, start writing the clues. This is your chance to be
creative and have fun. Tie the clues in with your children’s
interests and by all means don’t hesitate to make them
educational too! Here are some
ideas to get you started:
Make up rhyming riddles that lead the kids on a trail through
the yard and neighborhood. Remember to make them challenging
enough, so that it takes them some time to figure out. You can
always give them additional hints if they are totally stumped.
Use photographs to point them in the right direction. Take
pictures of familiar things in the area where their next clue
or prize can be found. For example, if your kids frequent a
neighborhood playground, give them a picture of a swing and
the slide. This is a great option for kids who can’t read. For
older kids, make it more difficult by taking “zoomed” in
pictures. Take a picture of the object in a real zoomed in
shot so they only get to see a portion of the object. This is
more challenging, but remember you can always give them
additional hints if they need help.
Use word searches with the clues hidden inside. Don’t tell
them the specific words they are looking for, but rather give
them hints as to what they are looking for. For example, you
can tell them to find a friend, a street, a place, and a thing
(answer would be Mary Clark’s backyard swing set on Maple).
Make up crossword puzzles or cryptograms with the answers
being the clues.
Keep it a secret. Don’t tell them when they will be getting
their next clue. This will keep them wondering and will also
give you time and flexibility in planning.
Make it fun. Print the clues and puzzles on the back of a
picture of a treasure chest, rolled up in a scroll, or on a
piece of paper decorated in a pirate theme. Also, consider
mailing them their clue each week. Kids love to receive mail.
Include your children’s friends. Recruit fellow parents to join
in and send clues to your kids as well as their friends. Let
them join up together for the hunt and the fun.
Offer small prizes like candy, little toys, books, or
certificates for ice cream throughout the hunt, but don’t go
overboard. Remember to keep the fun focused on the actual hunt
not on the reward.
Polly Schlafhauser is Founder and
President of Families with Purpose, a website dedicated to
helping busy families find time for the little things in life.
To find additional tools for creating your own Treasure Hunt or
other ideas for family fun, visit their website at
http://www.familieswithpurpose.com |
